ST. MARTIN PARISH — As sugarcane enters its growing season, inconsistent temperatures pose potential risks for its development. Stuart Gauthier, a county agent with the LSU Ag Center, explains that this time of year is crucial for the crop's growth. "This is the time of year where we need the cane to start growing. Usually, when you get to the end of February, we start making our crop for the next year and getting some green shoots that are hopefully able to make those stalks," Gauthier said. However, with freezing temperatures predicted in the coming days, Gauthier expressed concern about the potential impacts. He explained that, “Normally when you’re talking about low temperatures like that, you would be concerned about the cane getting damaged.”
Gauthier noted that a hard freeze could result in the cane freezing back, which would delay its growth. “If we have a hard freeze, like if it freezes back, the plant has eyes, it’s gonna shoot new shoots up but like everything else, it’s delaying it, it’s gonna take more energy from that stubble so it sets everything back,” he explained.
Despite these concerns, sugarcane farmer Kassi Leger is less worried about a significant setback. She believes that while a cold snap might slow the growth, the soil’s temperature will prevent long-term damage. "It could delay the growing process, however, the soil temperature we find is not going to get as cold for a longevity of time. So as of right now, we have rain coming in which helps seal the ground, which helps hold the heat within the soil,” Leger said.
Both Gauthier and Leger agree that the snowstorm in January unexpectedly helped protect the sugarcane from potential freeze damage.
Gauthier explained, “What happened is it kind of formed a blanket for us and so, as I said before, it held that temperature, the heat of the temperature within the soil." Leger agreed, noting that the snow provided some insulation. “Every freeze is different; we were lucky this time to have that snow blanket. We don’t want to see this recurring, recurring freezes. We like for things to green up in the spring and stay green going forward,” Gauthier added.
As for the current growing season, both Gauthier and Leger remain optimistic. Gauthier said “When you look at this field here, our growers had the opportunity to clip off all those dead shoots. Unfortunately, now we’re going to have that little freeze, and so we’ve kind of encouraged the cane to grow, but hopefully this little freeze is not gonna kill back and damage these young green shoots too badly.”
Both experts remain hopeful that despite the cold snap, the sugarcane will recover and continue to grow as the season progresses.
